Openly Gay Olympian Taunts Vice President Mike Pence

By: Mackenzie Wright | February 13, 2018

Vice President Mike Pence is attending the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic games, but not all U.S. athletes are thrilled to have him. One openly gay U.S. skier, who is dating a U.S. male figure skater, isn't interested in the honor of meeting the VP. He's taken to social media to taunt Pence.

Skier Gus Kenworthy and his boyfriend, figure skater Adam Rippon, are touting themselves as the first two openly gay Olympics athletes. On Friday, Kenworthy posted a photo of himself and his beau in South Korea at the opening ceremony on Instagram.

"The #OpeningCeremony is a wrap and the 2018 Winter Olympic Gaymes are officially under way! I feel incredibly honored to be here in Korea competing for the US and I'm so proud to be representing the LGBTQ community alongside this amazing guy" he wrote.

He then added, "Eat your heart out, Pence."

When USA Today asked Rippon in an interview what he thought of the White House's delegate sent to lead the games, he responded, “You mean Mike Pence, the same Mike Pence that funded gay conversion therapy?” Rippon said. “I’m not buying it.”

“If it were before my event, I would absolutely not go out of my way to meet somebody who I felt has gone out of their way to not only show that they aren’t a friend of a gay person but that they think that they’re sick,” Rippon added. “I wouldn’t go out of my way to meet somebody like that.

Pence has riled the LGBTQ community in the past due to his stance against same-sex marriage and opposing certain rights for transgendered individuals. When he was running for Governor of Indiana, he supported using public funding for sexual therapy for people voluntarily 'seeking to change their sexual behavior.'

The funds would also cover what has come to be known as 'gay conversion therapy’. Rumors have since swirled that he supported mandatory conversion therapy, as well as the use of electric shock therapy to help convert gay people into straight people.

The Vice President called the claims 'fake news'. He never attempted to make any therapy mandatory, and never suggested using shock therapy at all. Pence says he's currently in South Korea to cheer on 'all our great athletes’ and has not made any mention of gay vs. straight Olympians.

Kenworthy has been taking shots at the VPOTUS, using phrases like 'Winter Olympic Gaymes' and '#TeamUSGay' in his posts.

Pat Gray, radio show host of 'Pat Gray Unleased', has shot back at Kenworthy. “Why can’t they understand Trump is the very first president ever elected who supports same-sex marriage?” he explained.

He also adds that Kenworthy and Rippon should probably not be touted as the first openly gay Olympians. "These are the first openly gay Olympians?" he asks on his show. "Are you telling me Brian Boitano, nobody knew Brian Boitano was gay? Are you telling me Johnny Weir, no one knew he was gay? Come on, now."

“You didn’t know he was gay? Everybody else in the world did!” he added.

Rippon is just not interested, and says he has no respect for the Vice President.

“To stand by some of the things that Donald Trump has said and for Mike Pence to say he’s a devout Christian man is completely contradictory. If he’s okay with what’s being said about people and Americans and foreigners and about different countries that are being called ‘sh--holes,' I think he should really go to church," he said.